


Dog Bones

by TerranTheRat



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Dog puns galore, Dogamy and Dogaressa have a kid, Dream Sequences Galore, Dreams and Nightmares, M/M, Other, Reader Is In College, Reader Is Not Chara, Reader Is Not Frisk, Reader has insomnia, Reader has mild premonitions, Reader is a waiter, Reader is male, Reader likes Animals, Reader-Insert, Slow Burn, We need more male reader-inserts, human reader, it's so slow, lots of swearing, will add tags as they become relevent
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-25
Updated: 2018-05-07
Packaged: 2019-02-20 05:51:40
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 14,459
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13140411
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TerranTheRat/pseuds/TerranTheRat
Summary: For as long as you can remember you've really liked animals and really disliked people. After years of dealing with them though you've learned to tolerate people to live your life. You're perfectly content with the path you're on and didn't expect anything to change that, but a little puppy ends up leading you down one hell of a rabbit hole. Unearthing things that wish you could forget, and that you wish you never remembered.





	1. Every Day Has It's Dogs

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Bare Bones](https://archiveofourown.org/works/6994876) by [CrossBladeWing](https://archiveofourown.org/users/CrossBladeWing/pseuds/CrossBladeWing). 



> Despite the summery I promise this is a Sans/reader fic! This is also my first legitimate fic so if you have any helpful critiques I'd be grateful!
> 
> P.S. As you can see this fic was Inspired by Bare Bones so even if you don't like mine at all I still highly recommend checking that fic out because it's really good!

**_It was dark. No, it was just…black. You carefully felt around your face until your fingers lightly brushed against your eyelashes. Your eyes were definitely open, but there was nothing to see. You tried to feel if there was anything close to you, but again; there was nothing. You risked taking a few steps into the blackness, and even though you obviously had to be walking on something, you never felt your steps connect to anything._ **

**_After a pause you bent down and check what you now realized to be your bare feet to see if they were numb. You had full feeling, so it wasn't your feet that were the problem. You placed your hand on what had to be the ground and didn’t feel your hand connect to anything. Your hand was definitely on something solid, it wouldn’t move any further downward even when you put some of your weight on it._ **

****__

**_You exhale bewildered and suddenly what was happening seemed very familiar. It felt like something that’s happened many times before and you instinctively stood back up and look around expectantly, even though there is only blackness. You were confused; you were sure something was supposed to happen then, you weren't sure what exactly, but SOMETHING should have happened. At the same time that lack of something also felt familiar, making you even more confused-_ **

\--------------------------

 

__

" **-some _BODY ONCE TOLD ME-!"_**

__

You wake up with a start because of your blaring alarm and you frantically scramble through your bedding to find your phone. Once you find it you repeatedly poke the dismiss button on your alarm until the deafening music finally stops. You breathe heavily with your hand on your sternum in a subconscious attempt to keep your heart from beating out of your chest.

__

God, you hate that alarm.

__

As much as you hate it though, it’s the only alarm that works anymore. Since you got your new insomnia medication about a month ago all the alarms that once worked now go unnoticed by your sleeping self. It's not that you mind all that much. You’d rather actually sleep then worry about an annoying alarm.

__

With your phone in hand, you flop back onto your bed and check the time. You sigh; it's 5:00 A.M. You’re used to the schedule you have, but, due to being an extreme night owl when you were younger, 5:00 still seemed like an ungodly hour to wake up. You unlock your phone and check for any new messages or notifications, and, much to your disappointment, there isn’t much except for more drama about the monsters that came from the mountain on your feed.

__

Exhaling distastefully, you roll off your bed and head to the bathroom. As you hop in the shower your mind wanders around the topic of the monsters. It irritates you to no end how they were being treated after they had finally been freed from their imprisonment under the mountain. You shouldn’t be surprised, though. Humans can’t even seem to get along with themselves, let alone anything else that's sapient. You let the water run over you for a little while, letting it clear your head. You hear another alarm go off on your phone, which was sitting by the sink. This one is a lot quieter than the alarm you woke up to.

__

You quickly wash your body and your long-for-a-boy hair with your favorite products before turning off the water and hopping out. Your alarm goes off again as you dried off. Lightly rubbing your hair with the towel you check the memo on the alarm since you don’t remember setting it.

__

“ _Manger is diching you, dress to inpres_ ”

__

You smile a little at the obviously half asleep typos of the memo and remember what the alarm’s for now. You work as a waiter at a small, but pretty decent restaurant not too far from the monster district called Devin's Food & Cake. The owner of the restaurant told you early in the morning last week that your manager was leaving today for a trip. She was going to the other side of the country to meet her fiancé’s family, and said you were the most qualified for being the temporary manager while she’s away.

__

The owner was so set on you covering for your manager that week he had already changed everyone else’s hours and shifts before he even told you your manager was leaving. Obviously you weren’t all too happy to have your hours changed without notice, but he was the owner. There wasn’t much you could do to protest, even if you really wanted to, which you honestly didn’t though.

__

While covering, you’ll be getting paid a manager's salary, which is a good amount more than what you normally make. The owner also mentioned that if you did well that you might be promoted to assistant manager. You’re not exactly sure how much of a jump that is from being a waiter but it’s simple logic that a higher position means better pay and, being a college student, you could use all the money you can get your hands on.

__

Noting your temporarily heightened status in your workplace you head back to your room, put on some clean boxer briefs and look in your closet. Your work doesn’t have uniforms past aprons and specially designed ties, but it does, however, have a pretty strict dress code for the servers and anyone that’s regularly seen by customers.

__

There are a lot of plain and printed t-shirts hung up, but you also have quite a few fancier outfits for when you felt like dressing up. You riffle through the fancier side of your closet, looking past the outfits you’ve already worn to work and the outfits that just generally aren’t work appropriate.

__

You stumble across a really old grey dress shirt in the very back.You instantly recognize it as the first dress shirt you owned. You got it from a thrift shop not too far from your old house when you were 16 and it has a lot of memories attached to it. You only really brought it with you when you moved for its sentimental value, but it’s still in really good shape. After a moment of contemplation you decide what’s a shirt for if it’s not worn, then slip it on.

__

You’re surprised how well it fits; it had been a bit big on you until the day you packed it up to move. You stopped wearing it after you left your parents’ house because it made you homesick, which was probably another reason it was at the very back of the closet.

__

With all the moving of heavy trays and plates of food your once scrawny arms and shoulders actually have something to them now, albeit not much. After you’re done admiring the fact that you actually have somehow gained some muscle since moving, you throw on some matching grey dress pants, a black vest, a pair of black dress shoes, and the black ribbon bow tie with a red gem in the middle that was specially made for the restaurant's staff as a uniform.

__

You head back to the bathroom and look in the mirror. The shirt looks nice, the red gem on the ribbon tie nicely contrasting against the grey as well as the general monochrome of the outfit. The only issue then is your hair. It’s a complete mess. Stay strands of hair are sticking almost straight up in the air and your bangs are half slicked back and half in your face. You briefly contemplate just leaving it and laugh, before quickly grabbing your comb and styling your partially damp hair to the side.

__

“Much better.” You say, tilting your head to see how your hair looks.

__

After you’re done with your hair you go to the small kitchen of your apartment to make breakfast. You can’t eat too much in the morning or else your stomach gets upset but you’re too active nowadays to just skip it. You grab a packet of vitamin rich drink mix and the peanut butter from the cupboard then grab a knife before heading over to the counter by the fridge. Setting down the stuff you open the fridge and take out the loaf of bread and one of the full chill n’ go water bottles. You put the bread in the toaster and quickly mix the drink mix into the water bottle before taking a sip of the drink.

__

You check your phone again. It was 5:20 now, running a little bit behind schedule but you always give yourself extra time anyway. You gingerly sip your drink as you wait for the toaster and your mind wanders again, only this time to the dream you had. You’ve been having that dream a lot lately and it’s always the same; the blackness, the bare feet, the incorporeal floor, and the feeling of it all happening before. Obviously it’s a reoccurring dream so it has happened before but it was like that even the first time you had it. It isn’t anything like your normal ‘Déja Vu’ dreams. Those are more like easily forgettable, one time premonitions, not a notably reoccurring dream like this one.

__

The toaster pops, snapping you out of your thoughts. You quickly take the hot toast out of the toaster and put it onto the counter. You open the peanut butter and spread a decent layer onto the hot bread, the peanut butter melting after a few swipes of the knife. You go over to the sink and grab a couple paper towels before going back to your PB toast. You haphazardly wrap up the toast in the paper towels and carry them and your water bottle into the living room.

__

On your small couch is the messenger bag you kept odds and ends for work and school in. You grab it, put your water bottle in it, and throw it over your shoulder. It’s normal for you to eat on the metro so you head for the door toast in hand. 

__

Your free hand barely touches the doorknob before you feel dread weigh you down. For what seemed to be no reason you feel that if you left right then, how you were, something bad would happen. You draw your hand away from the door and try to shake off the feeling, but it was no use. The feeling of danger radiates from the door and you grumble to yourself. Are you nervous about the temp position at work? No that’s not it, you’re totally fine with it. You can’t pinpoint what the feeling is coming from but it is danger nonetheless, so what better way to combat danger then with a weapon?

__

You walk back to your room and set your toast bundle on the nightstand, right next to your pistol. You personally aren’t the biggest fan of guns but with your mother being a farm kid and your father being from a military family, they wouldn’t let you move to the city without a pistol and a concealed carry permit.

__

You make sure the safety is on and then empty the clip. Just having a gun is intimidating enough to scare off most people, so having it loaded isn’t really necessary. As soon as you put the empty pistol in your bag the feeling of danger vanishes as suddenly as it came. Satisfied with your decision, you grab your toast again and start out on your walk to the train station.

__

\--------------------------

 

__

There is nothing at all unusual about the trip to work and you are slightly irritated at yourself for wasting time getting your pistol. You almost missed your train because of that out of nowhere feeling of danger but you make it to work on time nonetheless and greet the rest of the staff wholeheartedly before heading to put your things in your work locker.

__

“- - - - - -! ~, you’re officially the boss for a week! So how does it feel? ~”, a younger girl with blonde hair inquires playfully as she comes up next to you and leans on the lockers. Something seems to sparkle in her brown eyes but it might just be the fluorescent lights.

__

“Oh, uh, good morning Tessa. Um… not much different at the moment?” you reply awkwardly as you put on your name tag. You don’t know why, but you always felt weird around Tessa. She’s a nice girl and all but there’s something strange with how she acts around you. The rest of the staff says she has a crush on you but that doesn’t match up with the looks she gives you when she thinks no one is looking. Those looks are like she is staring right through you, or maybe into you, as if she saw something no one else could and was judging you for it.

__

“Oh come on! Everyone knows you got in good with the owner, you should be ecstatic! You’re moving up in the world!” she exclaims, grasping your shoulder, and you instantly stiffen at the touch.

__

“Well, uh, you know I only work here to pay for college, Tessa…” you state awkwardly, closing your locker to punctuate what you said. She looks at you in that weird way for a second before going back to her usual self.

__

“Oh yeah! You work so diligently and get along with everyone so well I always forget you’re a student,” she says releasing her grip on your shoulder, “Well, I shouldn’t keep you any longer, you got all dressed up for your new position so go rock it!” she shoots you a double pistol and a wink before heading back out to do her job as head waitress.

__

You silently question how she knew that you dressed up; this outfit looks like your normal work clothes for the most part because of the dress code. You shake it off; now is not the time to be worrying about Tessa. You clock in and get to work. The first thing you notice is how much physically easier being a manager is, but it is a lot more mentally challenging. You have to keep an eye on both the staff and the customers and you also have to deal with any and all complaints and problems that couldn’t be fixed by the servers or other staff; even the stupid ones...scratch that, especially the stupid ones.

__

By the time the lunch rush is almost done you're pretty beat. The customers are thankfully more interested in eating at the moment so you’re able to relax for a little bit in the locker room. That is, until you hear distressed voices coming from outside and rush out to see what the issue is. Three dog monsters -two bigger ones in cloaks, and a puppy in a striped shirt- have walked into the restaurant. Despite how close the place is to the monster district no monsters have come here since they came down from the mountain so it’s quite a shock.

__

“Sorry, no dogs allowed!” A voice says in a semi malicious tone that you recognize instantly.

__

“Kendrick, what seems to be the problem?” you ask in an even tone despite wanting to spit it like venom as you arrive at the counter. Kendrick, a large dark haired man who might look like the stereotypical “jolly fat man” character if he ever took the time to actually be nice, is another waiter at Devin's Food  & Cake and the two of you have never got along with each other. He is extremely bigoted and is a general asshole to boot, but is good at pretending not to be for his job; well most of the time at least.

__

“Isn’t it obvious? We have a sign right outside that says no dogs and these three are obviously dogs!” Unlike you, he has no problem letting venom drip from his words at that moment. You take a closer look at the three dog monsters. The male looks kind of like a schnauzer while the female looks more like a poodle, the puppy looking like an even, super curly mix of both. The male and puppy look really sad and even kind of ashamed, while the female looks like she’s tempted to bite off Kendrick’s head; that might be slightly projected though. It doesn’t take you long to recognize the two older ones as part of the monsters ‘royal guard’ and you mentally smirk.

__

“What are you talking about Kendrick?” You question, tilting your head slightly as if you are completely confused by what he’s saying, “all service dogs are legally allowed in our restaurant.”.

__

Kendrick looks at you like you’re an idiot,” Service dogs?! How are these service dogs?!”

__

You’re internally grinning because of how sweet this small victory against Kendrick is going to be. Turning to look at the dogs you give a friendly but questioning smile. “You two are part of the monsters royal guard aren’t you?” you asked politely and the male perks up, nodding yes along with the female. “You see Kendrick? These particular dogs are in the service of the royal family of monsters, I.e. service dogs. Now if that’s was your only problem would you mind getting back to work? It is still the lunch rush after all.” You say in a voice that only Kendrick could hear the animosity in. He glares at you before visibly deciding he shouldn't push his luck at the moment and storms off, presumably back to work.

__

You turn back to the dogs and smile again,” I apologize for him, he’s just a little closed minded. So what brings you to Devin's Food  & Cake if you don’t mind me asking?” As much as you are being polite you are more curious than anything.

__

The two dogs spoke back and forth finishing each other’s sentences, ”oh, it’s Dogi’s half birthday and she said that” “she wanted to go to a human place for” ”her birthday lunch! This just happens to be the” “ closest human place that has really good ratings.” they beam, lovingly patting the puppy’s head, the pup must be Dogi. Given how they spoke about it you assume a half birthday is as important as a normal birthday to them and act accordingly.

__

“Oh! I am so sorry you had such a rude welcome then!” you bend down a bit so you are more at eye level with the monster pup, “I hope it didn’t ruin your special day,” you say sadly. The pups eyes are bright and happy as she whines and yips in reply.

__

“Aw~” “she says it couldn’t be bad because” “you protected us from that mean man! And” ”that she is so happy we came here,” the two older dogs gush.

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“Oh, I’m only doing my job~” you look at Dogi “Since it’s your first time here on top of your half birthday you can have one dessert on me, that is, if your parents are ok with it.” You say, looking back up to the older dog monsters, who are taller than you even when you aren’t bending down. They looked at you in total surprise; you hope you didn’t accidentally do something offensive.

__

“Oh, you don’t have to ””do that! We can pay for the” ”dinner and dessert! You’ve already been so kind and” “we couldn’t ask you to spend your own” ”money on our puppy!” They stammer bashfully, you’re relieved that you didn’t offended them and stand back up.

__

“Oh it’s no problem, It's only one dessert! ~ And besides I need to make up for Kendrick’s inappropriate behavior. I don’t want one employee to be your impression of Devin's Food  & Cake,” you assure, waving your hand dismissively. You see the two older dogs look at each other and share a silent conversation before nodding. You smile widely. Your kindness might not be able to make up for the things humans have put monsters though but it certainly wouldn’t hurt anything. “Booth or table?” you ask habitually.

__

“Tabl-” the bigger dogs almost chorus before being cut off by a concise bark from Dogi,“b-booth” “Dogi wants a booth” they say disappointedly, but they bend to their child’s will since it’s her half birthday. You nod and lead them to an open booth, and are sad to see other customers leering at the dogs. You tell the dogs to tell the waiter that you said one of the desserts are on you. You politely bow to them before heading back to your post but before you can reach it Tessa comes up to you with an annoyed look on her face, and you raise an eyebrow.

__

“What did you do? Kendrick just clocked out in a rage,” she asks, having been on break until then and unaware of the dog monsters.

__

“Why do you instantly assume it was me? He always seems to have something to be angry about anyway maybe something else made him mad?” you inquire in a reasonable tone but with a look of pride on your face that totally gives it away.

__

Tessa sighs, “Taylor couldn’t make it today remember? Kendrick’s shift doesn’t end for a few hours so now we’re short staffed!” Your eyes widen before you heave an exasperated sigh. You are the only other waiter available at the moment and that means you have to try to balance working as the manager AND a waiter until the end of your shift. Well, at least you know waiting like the back of your hand after months of working here, so you hope it isn’t as bad as it sounds.

__

“Okay. I can tell you what I did to piss off Kendrick so bad later, ‘cause I know you’ll prod me about it, but for now I’ll wait some tables. Lunch rush is basically over so we should be fine until the end of the shift,” you say, completely ignoring the weird feeling you get from Tessa for the good of the restaurant. You grab some menus and go back to the dogs.

__

“Well it turns out we’re a little short staffed so I’ll be your waiter today!” you chime as you place the menus in front of them.

__

\--------------------------

 

__

You reflect on the rest day on the way home from work. It had gone as you thought, thank God. The dogs were amazing customers, and it was adorable watching Dogi eat the cake she chose to be her dessert on you. It may have gone as expected but that doesn't change the fact that you expected to be exhausted, and you are. You’re sore and your mind is kind of foggy as you make your way towards the train station. 

__

You haven’t gotten but a few blocks from the restaurant when you hear high pitched yipping. You had been around dogs all your life and you know the sound of a dog in pain; the dog is being actively hurt. 

__

Without really thinking you rush toward the sound, dashing through alleyway twists and turns but when you arrive at where the sound is coming from you freeze. There in front of you is Kendrick and two other men in a side alley, and in front of them is the puppy monster from lunch, whimpering.

__

You grit your teeth as you hear Kendrick laugh at Dogi’s pained whines. You reach into your bag for your gun and, tightly wrapping your fingers around the grip, pull it out. You know you should just put it on the back of Kendrick’s skull as a threat but you seriously want to kick him where the sun doesn’t shine, so you do, your leather dress shoes causing him to drop down to his knees almost instantly. You step over him, gun in hand, and when you’re between the three men and Dogi you turn and point the gun right at Kendrick.

__

“I knew you were a prick, but to beat up a puppy makes you a whole different kind of bastard.” You growl, your (e/c) eyes glaring all of the built up daggers from work into him now that you had no reason to pretend to be nice to him.

__

“- - - - - - -?! You bastard, did you bring that gun to work!?” he hisses through gritted teeth, trying to recover from the kick.

__

“You should be more worried that I’m aiming it right at your skull then if I brought a weapon to work.” It feels nice to let the loathing for him drip from your words, “If you don’t leave now I’ll aim _lower_ ,” you state flatly, insinuating you’d shoot him where you kicked him. The two men with Kendrick, a fit brunette in a black wife beater and a slightly less fit dirty blonde in a casual t-shirt, stare in shock at the gun.

__

“Fuck this shit!” the dirty blonde says before he and the brunette turn and run.

__

“What are you two doing!?” Kendrick spits after them.

__

“We didn't sign up for a gun show Browne! If you expect us to take a bullet for you you’re fucked in the head!” the brunette yells back as the two dash out of the alley.

__

Kendrick swears under his breath and stumbled to his feet; baring his teeth at you.”You bastard. I'm going to make you regret this!” he spits before bolting out of the alley.

__

When you are pretty certain he’s out of hearing range, you pull the trigger and smile as the gun clicks dully. “Pew pew,” you joke as you turn to the still shaking Dogi. Kneeling down, you cautiously hold out your empty hand in front of her. ”Are you ok? It’s me, the nice waiter from the restaurant. I gave you a piece of cake, remember?”. 

__

She blinks a few times before timidly sniffing your open palm, and then whines as she presses her head against your hand. You frown when she then proceeds to hug you and clings to you like a koala to its parent. You pet her head calmly; she is scared and hurt and separated from her parents so you don’t blame her for clinging…Wait, where are her parents? 

__

“Hey, do you know where your parents are? If you do I can take you to them. Those mean guys won’t try to hurt you again if I’m with you,” you say calmly. You’re worried about the older dogs, but they’re part of the royal guard, so it’s not as though they -unlike Dogi- couldn’t protect themselves. The pup looks up at you with a sad face and shakes her head, ashamed.

__

As much as you want to look for the older dogs if something happened while you were searching you would have a hard time protecting Dogi if anyone sees through your gun bluff. You know how to fight; you had taken martial arts classes for a long time when you were young, but you haven’t been in an actual fight since junior high and you are sore and exhausted to boot.

__

“Well, if I take you into the monster district, can you find your way to a safe place? I’ll stay with you until you're safe and then go find your parents, ok?” you sigh. Dogi being safe is your first priority. The pup nods vigorously, putting her paw in your hand. As much as you don't want to, you have to put your gun away. You can't just walk through town with a gun in your hand after all, but not having it put your senses into overdrive. Getting caught off guard without it would lead to a very bad situation.

__

Which is exactly what happens. The second you step out of that section of the alley you hear yelling coming towards you. Before you can even turn your head you feel burning pain over your entire upper back. Kendricks face comes into focus along with the fact that you’re now against a brick wall. 

__

“You bastard! That gun wasn't even fucking loaded!” he spits, almost literally, as he tries to grab your neck. You catch his wrists before he can but struggle. He’s stronger than you but you can't let him at your throat. You hold him back long enough that he changes tactics. He grasps for your face and gets a hold on your jaw. Your eyes widen as he slams your head against the wall behind you. 

__

You can almost feel your brain move in your skull on the recoil. You still have a tight grip on Kendrick’s wrists but you can feel yourself slipping out of consciousness. Before you can faint you hear a soft growl and then Kendrick letting out a pained yowl; he’s shifting his attention from you to something else. You force your mind to focus and see that Dogi has chomped down on Kendrick’s leg; her sharp puppy teeth make up for her lesser jaw strength so her teeth are a good way into Kendrick’s lower thigh.

__

A wave of adrenaline rushes over you; you said you’d keep the little dog safe and that's what you’re going to do. While Kendrick is distracted by Dogi you take the chance to grab his head and use all the strength you can muster to slam it against the wall like he did you. Unlike his attempt though, yours has enough momentum to knock him out cold. 

__

You pant for a second, looking at your hands. You just slammed someone's head against a wall. You just slammed someone's head against a wall. You repeat that in your head a few times but Dogi snaps you back to reality with a hug around the waist. You return the hug, but your mind raced. You are only running on adrenaline and that wouldn't last too long. You have no idea when Kendrick will wake up again, and you still need to get Dogi to a safe place in the monster district. 

__

“Do you mind if I pick you up? We need to get to a safe place before the mean guy wakes up,” you say, bending down and preparing to pick the pup up. She glances over to where Kendrick lies unconscious before nodding. In one swift motion you scoop Dogi up in your arms and hold her like a baby -fortunately, she's small enough to hold comfortably- before dashing out of the alley at full speed.

__

Thankfully you make it into the monster district with nothing more than shrewd stares from people as you dash past them, which you are too tired to care about. When you get to the monster district you slow down to a brisk jog and Dogi starts skillfully directing you through the monster district by pointing. You are all kinds of thankful she seems to know where she’s going; you would have never even thought to go through the streets she was leading you down.

__

After a couple of minutes of twists and turns your previous exhaustion is now doubled. Barely conscious, and all sorts of sore, you are thankful that your arms aren’t shaking under Dogi’s now much weightier feeling form. Thankfully Dogi finally points you towards a building. It’s a restaurant, you guess from the smell of food and the noise coming from inside.

__

“ _Grillby’s_ ”, the sign reads.

__

You look down at Dogi with a confused look on your face. “Is this the safe place? It looks just like a normal restaurant.” Dogi nods excitedly in response. She is your only source of information right now so you kind of have to trust her. Since the door is a push open door and Dogi was taking up both of your hands you try to lightly kick the door open. It turns out to be a much harder kick then you had wanted and you hear the door thump against the inner wall of the establishment, making you wince a little; a wave of heat rolling over you as you step inside before the door closed.

__

The quickest glance around shows some other dog monsters at a table not too far from you, and all of the tension up to that point melts away at the sight. You feel your head spin as the adrenaline finally fades out and you start to lose consciousness. You barely feel yourself start to fall before you then feel yourself being lifted off the ground with the sounds of growls to accompany the feeling. You have no strength left so Dogi falls from your arms as they go limp. The last thing you hear before blacking out is some distressed barks and many surprised gasps from the rest of the bar.

__


	2. Dreams of Junkyard Dogs

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Waking up surrounded by monsters was the second to last thing you expected to happen today... The actual last thing was being taken home by a skeleton... You really should start expecting the unexpected at this rate.

It’s warm, god it’s warm, but there’s a cool feeling flowing down your throat. You hear faint voices; they get louder and clearer as you regain consciousness. The sudden realization that you don’t recognize any of them hits you and you take a sharp breath, instantly regretting it. You shoot up off of what you now realize is the floor, coughing and sputtering. That cool feeling was water and you just breathed it in. You feel someone gently patting your back and hear the familiar clink of a glass being set on wood. You look to see who it is as you try to catch your breath. It’s a very large goat monster kneeling beside you, her kind eyes looking at you with concern.

“Are you alright, my child?” she says worriedly, still lightly patting your back.

“C-child… wha…” you wheeze, you may be conscious but you aren’t quite coherent yet. You look around to try to get your bearings back. All around you are concerned looking monsters; a bunny, a flame, a bird, but a majority of them are dog monsters. Looking at the dog monsters makes you remember some of what happened: you saved a monster puppy and it led you here. That banged head must have caught up with you after you calmed down.

“Y-yeah, I think I’m ok now,” you say, coughing a few more times. The goat monster continues patting your back until a familiar puppy tackles you. Dogi whines and yips excitedly as she rubs her face on yours. You smile and chuckle a little, “Calm down, I’m fine, I’m fine~”

“Be careful little one, they have only just woken up.” the goat monster says to Dogi, who sadly hops off of you but stays close. “I’m so sorry, my child, it was a large misunderstanding that caused you to lose consciousness.” the goat monster states apologetically.

It takes a moment for what she said to register but after it clicks you realize that she’s talking about before you passed out “Oh there’s no need to apologize! I’m the one who barged in with a beat up puppy, there’s no way that couldn’t have looked bad.” You laugh nervously as you scratch the back of your head, “and the falling unconscious thing is mostly my fault too. I overworked myself today at my job and I got my head slammed into a wall in a fight before I got here. I'm surprised I even made it here to be honest.”

She blinks a few times in surprise before letting out a small sigh of relief “Oh phew, Sans was so worried he might have seriously hurt you. He'll be glad to hear you're alright after being unconscious for so long.” she voices happily. Most of her words till then took a while to register in your mind but a few instantly get stuck in your head after she says this.

“Being unconscious for so long…? How….how long was I out?” you tilt your head with a concern plastered across your face. The happiness that was on the goat monster face fades into concern.

“…My child, you’ve been unconscious for almost three hours now.... No one here knew what was wrong so I was called since I have the most experience with human medical care.” She says calmly in a way that feels like she’s trying not to spook you.

You look at her in surprise. You've been out for nearly three hours? ”o-oh geez…Was not expecting that,” you say, running your fingers through your hair. “Well I didn’t have any plans for after work anyway so I guess it’s not a big deal….?” you say, shrugging dismissively even though it isn't as easily dismissed from your mind. Dogi presses herself into your side as if sensing your slight unease and you realize you don’t see her parents among the dog monsters surrounding you.

“Oh gosh, where are you parents!? I was going to look for them after I dropped you off here!” you say to Dogi, worry washing over you. One of the dog monsters; a black and white dog with a studded collar, pink tank top, and cargo pants perks up at that and smiles.

“Oh, Dogamy and Dogaressa are fine! They came back as soon as they heard that someone found Dogi. They went to tell Captain Undyne about the human that hurt their up after she explained what happened. They wanted Dogi to go with them but she wasn’t leaving until you woke up.” The dog monster explains, his white tail wagging a little; happy to be of help.

When the dog is done talking you sigh in relief and pat Dogi’s head “You only met me today you silly little pup, you didn't have to stay with me for that long,” you say, smiling. Despite your words, you're happy she stayed. As well as you're taking the situation, it's nice to have an at least semi-familiar face there with you in this unfamiliar place full of strangers.

Dogi makes a noise that is halfway between a whine and a growl and then a few concise barks at what you said and the same black and white dog speaks up again.

“She says ‘of course I had to! You protected me so I should protect you too!” Dogi lets out a similar growly whine but quieter,”’It’s only fair....’” The black and white dog continues.

“Aw, that’s so nice of you~” you say to Dogi, lightly scratching behind her ear.

“Thanks!~” the black and white dog says at the exact same time as Dogi lets out a happy yip. Afterward Dogi and the other dog stare at each other, Dogi looking flat faced while the other looks nervously back. Even though you don't understand dog you can tell that the dog in the cargo pants thought the comment was directed at him and it makes you chuckle a little. Before either could continue though the goat monster took the pause as a chance to intervene.

“Thank you Doggo. As much as I know you’d enjoy translating for Dogi for a while, it is getting late and I'm sure the human wants to go home after such a stressful day.” the goat monster says to the black and white dog, Doggo. As much as you would like to stay it is probably getting late. If you have been out for three hours and you got off work at 5:00 it should be about 8:00 pm right now.

You look over to the goat monster, then back to the dogs and smile tiredly. “Yeah, she's right. I'd love to talk more but It has been a really long day,” you say, petting Dogi before getting up. “I'm glad you’re alright Dogi, and thanks for coming to help me miss….” your words trail off because you don't actually know the goat monsters name.

“Toriel dear. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance,” she says offering one of her large furry hands for you to shake.

“The pleasure is all mine,Toriel. I’m - - - - - - - .” you say, accepting the handshake, the fur on her hand is super soft. Not letting the softness of her hands distract you, you give Toriel as firm a handshake as you can muster. With the size difference in your hands you feel like it isn't even a noticed effort, but at least you tried.

“Well then, my child, I'm going to call a close friend of mine to drive you home.” she states; pulling out a disproportionately small phone -though it's probably a normal sized one for a human- from somewhere in her lavender robes.

“ oh, no, no, I can just walk to the metro and go home that way you don't have to get me a ride!” You state bashfully. You have already caused a lot of trouble and you don't want to impose on them any more then you already have.

“ I'm sorry dear but as you know you were unconscious for 3 hours and I can't with a right mind let you go home all on your own.” she says in the kind of motherly tone that you know means she isn't giving you any other option. You sigh as she presses a few buttons on her phone and turns away as she puts it up to her ear.

“Hello Papyrus…..Oh I'm lovely dear but I need your help with something…..hehe, I have a new human friend here at Grillby’s that is in need of a ride home and- oh well you were the first to come to mind yes... o-oh my, Papyrus you don't need to leave right this instant, you can finish whatever it is that you were doing! I know you are excited but- oh alright then see you in a moment dear.” Toriel hangs up the phone with a light smile.

While Toriel is talking, you glance around to get a better look at the restaurant; you didn't have much of a chance to before you conked out. It’s a nice looking place: hardwood floors, new bar stools, clean booths and tables. It’s a place you could see a small family or a lone traveler stopping by for lunch in. You only hear one side of Toriel’s conversation while looking around but you did hear ‘Papyrus’ raise their voice excitedly after Toriel said ‘new human friend’ which makes you grin. Monsters are really sweet.

“He will be here shortly,” she hums, turning to look at you with a kind grin.“In the meantime, Dogi told me that you’re a waiter: is there a specific reason you do that job? You don't have to answer if you don't want to. I'm just curious,” she continues, returning her phone to its place somewhere in her robes before putting her hands together in front of her.

You look at Dogi for a second before looking back, “ Well I'm a student in college so I just needed a steady job to pay for my studies. Devin's Food & Cake just happened to be hiring when I was job searching. To be honest though I'm working as manager for the week but today Kendrick-” even though you only pause for a split second when you say your co-worker’s name, you can tell Toriel notices “...left before the end of his shift so we were short staffed and I had to wait some tables till the end of the shift.”

“Oh? You're a student? What are you studying?” Toriel inquires, her deep crimson eyes lighting up when she said ‘student’.

“Oh, I'm studying veterinary science. I'm working on my Bachelors degree in science and zoology at the moment.” you state happily. You have always loved animals so just the thought of helping them makes you happy, which is probably one of the main reasons you saved Dogi without really thinking about the consequences.

“Veterinary science? So you are studying to be a veterinarian then.~ You must have a deep love of animals.” she said smiling widely.

You're about to reply but get interrupted by the door slamming open. Your head snaps to the door and you see a tall skeleton, about 6 feet you guess; in shorts, a crop top, a tattered orange scarf, and a slightly stained apron.

“THE GREAT PAPYRUS HAS ARRIVED WITH TRANSPORTATION!!!” the skeleton, Papyrus, exclaims loudly. You don't know how but his eye sockets seem to sparkle when he sees you. He dashes over to you and in one smooth, easy movement, scoops you up under your arms, lifts you over his head and spins around one full turn.

“YOU MUST BE THE NEW HUMAN FRIEND HER MA-...I MEAN TORIEL MENTIONED ON THE PHONE!~” he marvels, correcting himself about something part way through his sentence before setting you back down on the floor. “AS YOU ALREADY KNOW I AM THE GREAT PAPYRUS! BUT SINCE YOU ARE A FRIEND YOU MAY SIMPLY CALL ME PAPYRUS!” he continues, bowing formally.

The sudden movement gives you quite the scare but you can't help but smile at the skeletons enthusiasm, you don't think anyone has ever been so excited to meet you before. “Well it's nice to meet you papyrus, I'm - - - - - - -.” you say holding out your hand for him to shake. He takes your hand in both of his gloved ones and shakes it vigorously.

“IT IS A PLEASURE TO MEET YOU! TORIEL MENTIONED YOU NEED A RIDE HOME?” he asks tilting his head slightly.

“ Yes I did dear. - - - - - - - here has had a very long day and I can't simply let him walk home alone at this hour.” Toriel chimes in. The look on Papyrus’s face makes it obvious that he hadn't even noticed she was there. You're very tempted to chuckle at the skeletons expression but don't want to ruin the moment.

“OH, YOUR- I MEAN TORIEL! H-HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN STANDING THERE?” he questions nervously, a few small beads of sweat(?) appearing on the side of his frontal bone.

Toriel just smiles patiently as she put a large hand on both your and Papyrus’s shoulders, making you realize that she is taller than you thought. “I have been here the entire time, dear. Any way you two should get going, the city is not safe after it gets dark.” she coos, shooing the two of you out the door. You quickly call back your goodbye to Dogi as you and Papyrus are basically pushed out onto the sidewalk that is lit only by streetlights. Toriel stops pushing you both when she gets to the doorway and you and Papyrus walk willingly across the road.

“THANK YOU FOR TRUSTING ME WITH THIS IMPORTANT MISSION! I WILL NOT DISAPPOINT YOU!” Papyrus calls as he waves to Toriel, who’s holding the door open for a moment. She waves back with a kind smile and turns back into the restaurant.

You think you see her expression change from patiently kind to concerned just before the door closes but you pass it off as your imagination and follow Papyrus over to the only car parked near the establishment. It's a darker red convertible with the top down, you don't know cars that well but the logo on the front of the car literally says it for you.

“ Wow, how did you get a Porsche?” You marvel at the car, not because you’re fond of it -they’re too expensive for your taste- but for the fact that a monster has one. Monsters have only been on the surface for about six months so you wonder how he had gotten the money so quickly.

“OH! WELL….I WOULD LIKE TO SAY MY GREAT SELF EARNED EVERYTHING FOR IT…BUT THAT WOULD BE A LIE AND A GREAT PERSON LIKE MYSELF NEVER LIES! SO TO BE HONEST MY BROTHER AND SEVERAL OTHER MONSTERS HELPED GET IT FOR ME.” He explains as he opens the passenger side door for you. You nod your thanks for that and hop in, admiring the soft leather seats as you watch papyrus walk around the car and get in himself. “ I CAN, HOWEVER, SAY I AM THE VERY FIRST MONSTER TO RECEIVE A DRIVER'S LICENSE!” he continues proudly as he starts the car and drives you out of the monster district.

\--------------------------

 

__

Even though it’s kind of a short drive, 15 minutes at most, you learn a decent bit about Papyrus as well as a few other monsters. You find out Papyrus had been cooking dinner when Toriel called him, which explains the apron. Also you learn that Papyrus is good friends with the captain of the royal guard, Undyne, and that he has a brother named Sans, a name you faintly remember Toriel mentioning.

Papyrus parks in front of your apartment complex. It's tall but older looking in comparison to the shiny new buildings farther in the city. You hop out of the convertible and onto the sidewalk.

“Thanks for the ride Papyrus.” you smile at the skeleton thankfully.

“YOU ARE VERY WELCOME - - - - - - -! I HAVE TO GO BACK AND FINISH DINNER SO THIS IS FAREWELL FOR NOW BUT I HOPE TO HAVE TIME TO HANG OUT NEXT TIME! ” he says disengaging the parking brake. You nod in understanding and papyrus nods back before driving off. You wave to him as he goes and just before he turns off your street he waves back with his red gloved hand high above his head so you could see it in the street lights. You almost swear you hear ‘nyeh heh heh” over the revving of the porsche's engine as the car turns, which makes you giggle.

You turn and walk to the front door of the complex and open the main door. You look around and everything is as it was when you left that morning, just a bit quieter if anything. You take a deep breath and the familiar scent of the lobby washes over you.

Since it's a slightly older complex that is too far out of the city for most criminals and too far in for the more rural folk, it’s mainly occupied by older couples or, like you, other college students who could afford the commute to campus and/or work but not higher rent.

You habitually walk towards the stairwell but after a few steps up the full weight of the day drops on you. Somehow you aren't physically tired anymore but your emotional energy is completely drained. You look back across the lobby to the elevator. It’s an unspoken rule that the elevator is mainly for the older people but it isn't a set in stone thing and you often use it in the mornings when no one but you is awake.

At that moment you just want to go to bed, so you walk back down the handful of steps you had walk up and shuffle over to the elevator. You press the call button and you hear the elevator come down from the floor above. It isn't a worrisome sound, just some simple whirring, but it’s still an easy way to tell where the elevator is.

You hear the elevator settle and the distinctive elevator ding rings out into the lobby. As the doors open you’re relieved to see no one is using it and step into the small space inside. You press the button for your floor, and ride all the way up to the 3rd floor before the elevator stops. You step out and walk down to what should have been your apartment, almost too late realising that this is the wrong floor.

You look back at the elevator and see that the doors are still open. You walk back and peek in, the 4th floor light is still on. You sigh, the elevator malfunctioned or something, you'll have to tell the landlord. Not now though, you only have one flight of stairs until your actual floor and you aren't walking back down the stairs.

You climb the stairs solemnly, it has been a long day all around and despite the good things that happened there are enough bad to make you worry about them. You walk to your door and reach into your vest pocket for your keys, not there. You grumble and reach for your messenger bag. You curse as you finally realise it isn't there either, it has your phone, your pistol, and probably you main set of keys.

You press your forehead against the door hard, your stuff is probably still at the monster restaurant, grillby’s you remember. You lightly bang your head against your door before sighing and trying to get the spare key you hid in the small gap between the door and the door frame by the baseboards. It takes you a bit to get the key out since you don't have anything but your fingers but you eventually get a hold of it.

You unlock the door and completely ignore the kitchen and living room, b-lining straight for your room. You look around for anything that could tell you the time and spot your laptop. You open it up and the screen lights up, you were in the middle of some homework the night before so you just put it to sleep.

“ 8:40, I guess I'm not gonna get much done on homework tonight.” you sigh for what feels to be the hundredth time since you walked in the front door and put your laptop back to sleep. You amble back into the living room and then over to the kitchen. You aren't all that hungry so you just eat the stereotypical college student dinner, chicken cup-o-noodle. You have other food but you’re not in the mood for cooking anything.

As you casually slurp your noodles your mind wanders aimlessly. You think about how pissed kendrick will be at work tomorrow, which leads you to wonder if he even will be at work tomorrow. He was out cold when you ran out of the alley, you don't think you’re very strong so you didn't even question that he’d be ok then but for all you know you’re stronger than you thought and he was STILL unconscious in that alley. Yeah you don't like him but you don't want him dead either.

You take the last bite of your noodles nervously and try to think of what to do as you sip the broth from the cup. You can't go back to the ally this late at night, despite what you told toriel you can't afford the train past the times on your metro card and besides, it’s too dangerous this late at night to be looking down alleys, especially without a gun.

Your thoughts jump to an option, you don't like it but it’s the only decent one you can think of. Downing the rest of the now lukewarm broth you head back to your room, sit in your desk chair, and turn your laptop back on. You proceed to open up facebook and then messenger. You see the person you need to talk to is active but hesitate. Is it really worth talking to them for someone you don't even like?

You shake away that thought. You remind yourself that you don't want Kendrick dead and they’re the only way to reasonably check if he’s alright, so you start typing.

‘ _Hey Tessa._ ’ you send nervously. This is the first time you've talked to her outside of work, despite her being very adamant about you having her as a friend on facebook. Tessa has almost all the other staff members numbers but the main reason you chose to message her is that she lives within walking distance of Devin's Food & Cake so she can get to the alley you fought Kendrick in pretty easy.

Also there is the fact she knows how to defend herself. After work a few weeks ago you saw her throw someone over her shoulder like a ragdoll for just touching her purse, so you don't feel like you need to worry about her too much.

The little bubble with an ellipsis showing that she’s typing pops up almost immediately after your message sent. It takes a bit longer for her to send her reply then you expected though.

‘ _\- - - - - - -! So you finally decided to message me huh? what’s the special occasion?~_ ’ she finally sent. Your head swims for a second as the familiarity of the scene washes over you and a memory of a dream perfectly overlays itself over reality. Damn it, you’d seen this in one of your premonition dreams; you vaguely remember this dream from about a month ago. You shake away the fog that the fulfilled premonition left in your head and type back to Tessa.

‘ _This is going to sound weird but could you try to get ahold of Kendrick? I don't know his phone number so I can't myself._ ’ you reply.

‘ _Kendrick? Why are you trying to get ahold of him?_ ’

You freeze, should you tell her what happened? Would telling her you bashed Kendrick's head against a brick wall be a bad idea? You clench and unclench your fingers a few times before you decide you should tell her at least some of it, if he doesn't answer you have to ask her to go looking through alleys and she isn't going to do that unless she knows what’s going on.

‘ _I got into a full out fight with him after work in an alley, he almost knocked me out cold but I somehow managed to knock him out instead and once I realised what I did I panicked and ran…_ ’ you lean back in your chair and wait for a while before the facebook ding sounds from your laptop.

‘ _So…. Even though you basically hate the guy and he beat you up you're worried about him? Jesus - - - - - - -, you're just something else._ ’ she replies but continues typing ‘I’ll call him but if he doesn't pick up after a few calls you're gonna have to direct me to the alley you fought him in.’

‘ _Ok, thanks Tessa._ ’ you sigh in relief when you read that she would look through the alleys anyway if he doesn't pick up, you don't even know how you would have asked.

‘ _ok, I'll let you know if he picks up or not. Next time though if you want me to do you a favor at least give me a compliment first ;)_ ’ Tessa messages before logging off.

You lean back in your chair again and took a deep breath. You glance down at your laptop, then over to your bed and sigh for what might have actually been the hundredth time. You know yourself well enough to know that you won't be able to sleep if you went to bed now, even if you took your pill.

You lightly smack your face with both hands and then get to work on your current zoology assignment. You don't really notice the time pass as you work on it but it's about 25 minutes before you hear the facebook ding. You change from your google search over to Facebook; it's a message from Tessa.

‘ _ok, he didn't pick up after 5 calls so here I am in front of work. I hope you're good with directions._ ’ you take a deep breath, here comes the worry and guilt. You take a few more deep breaths to calm yourself down before replying.

‘ _ok from the door take a left and head down to Elder Road…_ ’ you direct her carefully through the alleys as well as you can remember, there are a few wrong turns but she did eventually make it to the right alley.

‘ _I don't see anyone…_ ’ she replies and you start typing back but she sends another message before you finish.

‘ _no wait, give me a sec._ ’ you send a quick ‘ok' and wait nervously. You aren't sure whether you’re hoping he is there or hopping he isn't. If he is there then you know he is accounted for but he has been lying there since you slammed his head against a wall over 3 hours ago. If he isn't you don't know whether or not he got picked up by some random creeper or if he actually woke up and walked to a hospital.

Even though it's only a few minutes of a pause it felt like a lot longer before she messages you again.

‘ _yeah I found him. Someone put a really old blanket and a few newspapers on him, they must have thought he passed out from drinking or something cuz he legit looks like he just fell asleep in the wrong place._ ’

‘ _...well at least he didn't freeze?... He’s still breathing though right? And what about his head?_ ’ you message back.

‘ _yeah he’s still breathing, and his head seems fine other than a good sized bump, no blood that I can see. Jeez though if I didn't know better I'd swear you were his boyfriend or something with how you're worrying. You and him having an affair or something eue_ ’ she replies.

‘ _oh fuck no, he's nothing close to my type of guy!_ ’ you reply before you actually realise what you sent. You smack your forehead hard. Did you seriously just say that you're into guys to the one person everyone at work says has the hots for you? WHILE she was doing _YOU_ a FAVOR!?

You more lightly bang the palm of your hand against your brow for a bit until you notice she replied to your message. You look up expecting her to either say something harsh or broken hearted.

‘ _hahaha yeah I figured, I see can't even imagine you with Kendrick's fat ass XD’ ‘I see you more with a small guy since you're such a protector ;3_ ’ your brows raise in surprise and a blush dusts your cheeks as you start typing again but she beats you to replying ‘ _But anyway I'm going to call a friend of mine to help me get Ken to a hospital so you can sleep soundly now.~ You do still have to be manager tomorrow ;D Night!~_ ’ she sends, instantly goes offline.

You’re confused for a split second because of how quickly and calmly she replied but then she hopped off before you even had time to reply. You give up trying to figure it out and just shrug it off; you can't get a good read on her anyway.

You finish off the paragraph you got pulled away from, save the edits and check the time before powering down your laptop. It's 9:30, your pill usually takes about 20 minutes to a half hour to kick in so you judge that you have enough time to shower.

Since you don't have any other alarm then on your phone you don't have the luxury of taking a shower tomorrow morning if you sleep in. You got out of your work clothes and slightly cringe at the grime stains on the knees of your dress pants; probably from when you were kneeling in front of Dogi in the alley. You grumble at the thought of hand washing them but get in the shower anyway.

You let your mind wander as you wash. Unlike the last few times it truly wanders, going from topic to topic and never staying on one for long. It meanders through the monsters you met today, to kendrick being in the hospital, to Tessa helping you out. It continues on past what happened that day to other notable premonitions you have had and then to just other odd dreams like the recurring one from that morning.

Continuing to let your mind drift you get out of the shower, dry yourself off and get ready for bed. As you head to the kitchen for some water to take your pill your mind loops back around to the fight with Kendrick, but more specifically the two men who had been with him.

You do your best to recall their features as you grab a cup from the cabinet and head to the sink. The dirty blonde did have a bit of chub to him but nothing substantial enough to counteract the fact he definitely looked like he worked out, he also seemed to be naturally broad shouldered. The brunette however looked like he exercised for a living, he wasn't huge like a bodybuilder but he didn't look like he had any fat on him at all from what you could tell, he had a slimmer profile than the dirty blonde and looked, but might not have actually been, taller than the dirty blonde because of that.

The biggest thing you remember though is the two’s eye's, both the same shade of light blue but nothing similar to Kendrick's dark green. Even though they seemed to be terrified of the gun their eyes didn't really show fear, more like distasteful surprise even though they thought it was loaded. Who were they and how did they know Kendrick? They can't have been relatives because the brunette had called kendrick by his last name, and based on their eyes, along with some other features, they had to be at least close cousins if not each others brother.

Even though they ran at the sight of the gun something inside you can't shake the feeling that they’re dangerous. Are they the reason you had that overwhelming feeling of dread this morning before leaving? What would they have done to you if you didn't have your gun? You shudder at the thought but are snapped back to reality by icy cold water overflowing from your cup onto your hand. Franticly you reach for the faucet handle with your other hand as you pull the glass from under the stream of water.

You groan as you transfer the glass to your other hand and shake the water off of the one that had been holding the glass. Geeze I really spaced out… you think to yourself as you wipe your wet hand against the hand towel that’s hanging on the cabinet door just under the sink. You switch the glass back into your dominant hand and carefully pour a small bit of water from the glass back into the sink.

Grumbling as you make your way back to your room it doesn't take you long to come back to the two men from the fight. You don't know enough about them to gauge their intentions helping Kendrick and that unnerves you. If your hunch is right and they are the source of the danger from that morning then you don't what to be on their bad side, but you might already be since you happily interrupted whatever it was they were doing to Dogi.

Shuddering again at the thought you set the glass on your nightstand, and get your meds from the top drawer. You carefully shake one tablet out of the bottle and then take a swig of water. Tipping your head back you drop the pill in your open mouth; quickly swallowing before the pill makes the water taste gross.

Out of habit you reach for your phone to look at the time but your hand pats the empty area by your pillow. Remembering that it's still with your bag you flop onto your bed. Today has been to eventful for you to care about the time right then. You crawl under your covers and, before your pill even has a chance to kick in, you pass out.

\--------------------------

**_  
You had just gotten off work and heard high pitched yipping. You had been around dogs all your life and you knew the sound of a dog in pain; the dog was being actively hurt._ **

**_You rushed toward the sound, dashing through alleyway twists and turns but when you arrive at where the sound was coming from you froze. There in front of you was Kendrick and two other men in a side alley, and in front of them was a whimpering Dogi._ **

**_You grit your teeth as you heard Kendrick laugh at Dogi’s pained whines. You didn’t even hesitate as you kicked Kendrick where the sun doesn’t shine. You casually stepped over his curled up form, making sure your foot hit his head as you did._ **

**_“Really Kendrick? Beating up a puppy? This is low even for you.” you said when you were between Dogi and the three men._ **

**_“- - - - - - -!? What the fuck are you doing here!” he hissed through gritted teeth, trying to recover from the kick._ **

**_“I was just passing by when I heard a prick, looks like I found it.” You said sarcastically as you gestured to Kendrick. The two men with kendrick looked at you, then at each other and then at Kendrick._ **

**_“Hey Browne, who’s the bartender?” the brunette inquired, his light blue irises stared at you from the corner of his eye._ **

**_“You seem to know each other, he’s not a pal of yours is he?” The dirty blonde said shortly after, also side eyeing you. Something about the way they looked at you and how they held themselves reminded you of a predator. Their gazes looked as if they were searching for the time to strike and every move they made looked deliberate and calculated._ **

**_“Ha! Me and him pals? That’s a great deduction! Kicking each other in the crotch is a great way to say hey to a buddy!” Kendrick retorted sarcastically as he stood back up but after an obvious reassessment of the situation he re-words his previous statement, “b-but yeah no, he’s just a pest from work, I can barely call him a bad acquaintance let alone a ‘pal’.”_ **

**_“Ha! You should have told us you work at a bar! You're gonna have to get us some drinks sometime.”The brunette sneered, taking his eye off of you for a second._ **

**_“I...I don't work at a bar. I work at a restaurant, as a waiter.” Kendrick carefully corrected, the way he held himself around the two made you worry more than the way they were looking at you. Kendrick was never this timid and soft trodden, even when he was pretending to be nice he was blatant. The simple fact that Kendrick felt the need to be careful even though they all appeared to be on the same side made you internally shudder. You made sure that your fear didn't show on the surface though, the monster pup was watching and you were the only thing between her and the people who had been hurting her; you had to stand your ground._ **

**_The two men and Kendrick continued to banter so you took the opportunity to glance back at Dogi. She was shaking like a leaf but a smidge of hope sparkled in her dark eyes. You gave her a calm but confident smile. ‘Don't worry I’ll get you out of this mess’,you thought to yourself and hoped your expression portrayed your thoughts._ **

**_“Hey, what are you looking so smug about?” one of the men inquired distastefully and you calmly turned your gaze back to the three, forcefully pushing the raising dread to the back of your mind. From the look on his face you guessed it was the dirty blond who had spoken; his brows were knit and his upper lip twitched slightly, threatening to lift into a snarl. The brunette had a much calmer expression but his brows were also knit and his eyes stared through you menacingly._ **

**_“I’m not trying to look smug, I just like dogs is all.” you replied calmly. In any other situation you would have made a snide comment but you were cornered and had to find a way to get Dogi away and safe. The last thing you wanted to do was piss these guys off._ **

**_The dirty blondes eye twitched and, despite having tried not to, you felt like you had just lit the fuse to a bomb._ **

**_“ Ey Browne, you said this guy was a pest from work right? Mind if we play exterminator?” The fuse you lit was short and you regret having said anything as you watched, keeping a brave face as you dreaded kendricks answer. Kendrick seemed openly horrified at the question, his lower lip trembling as he tried to form words._ **

**_“D-do wha-what you w-want, I-i won’t st-stop ya” He choked out. Tick- Tick- Tick- BOOM you’re SCREWED._ **

**_The two sneered menacingly as they give each other one last glance before they approached you. They approached slowly, you assumed it was to try and intimidate you. As much as you'd hate to admit it it was working, you felt the raising panic threaten to overcome you with every step they took, but you forced it down; the absolute last thing you needed to do was panic._ **

**_They were only a handful of feet from you when one of them finally made a move. The brunette took a few quick steps forward and took a swing at you. He had made it to obvious that he was going for a side swipe so you ducked under it easily, but that was a mistake. When you dodged you left yourself open for the dirty blonde to kick you in the side of the head. Your head snapped to the side and you stumbled a few steps, but forced yourself to regain your balance as quickly as possible._ **

**_The two had smug grins plastered on their faces, it was all to obvious that what just happened was deliberate. You cursed yourself under your breath for falling for that feint. Just from that you could tell these two were a tag team through and through, they planned to hit you back and forth like a ping pong ball until they were bored._ **

**_You weren't going to be able to hold both of them off long enough for Dogi to get through if you tried taking them both on. You needed to make one of them not able to fight long enough for you to distract the other. Dogi could get past Kendrick pretty easily if she was fast enough, you hoped she was strong enough to make a break for it when you made an opening…..you hoped YOU were strong enough TO MAKE an opening._ **

**_The two just stood there and watched you as you thought, their blue eyes stared you down intimidatingly. They seemed to be waiting for you to make the next move, it was clear to you now by how they placed themselves in front of you that they expected you to charge at them and they planned on hitting you towards the other depending on which one you made a move for._ **

**_Maybe since the bomb hasn't fully blown yet you still have a chance to kick it. You stood up straight and scoffed “ and here I was expecting a harder hit. Is that really all you two have? A cheap feint? I guess you got your money's worth on it.”_ **

**_The brunette’s eyebrows rose a small amount in surprise and the dirty blonde looked even more pissed off than earlier,clearly they weren't use to fighting people who aren't easily intimidated._ **

**_“Oh lookie here, we got ourselves a hotshot!” the dirty blond growled. He clenched and unclenched his fists, obviously itching to get a hit in on you, you found your target. The dirty blond was easily angered meaning if you worked this right you could take him on alone if you made him lose his cool. He’d come after you and break the tag team, giving you the chance to knock him down -if only for a little while- and then distract the brunette._ **

**_“What happened to that whole ‘playing exterminator’ Shit you two were spouting earlier? Was it all ‘bark’ and no ‘bite’!?” you could see the fire in the blonds eyes, the brunette had shifted his focus over to his partner, his expression oh so clearly saying ‘don’t do it’, but the blond wasn't paying attention. All you needed was one more good jab and he’d do exactly what you wanted._ **

**_“C’mon and give my your best shot if your not all fucking talk! I’ll even make it easier for you! You can plant one right here free of charge!” you said leaning forward and lightly tapping your cheek, it was surprisingly entertaining to pretend to be a cocky asshole but you couldn't let yourself lose focus on the objective._ **

**_The blond visibly snapped, his lips pulled back in a full snarl and his eyes were filled with the flames of war. In an instant he was barreling towards you at full speed, all to prepared to knock the smug look off of your face._ **

**_It was close, you felt his fist ever so slightly graze your cheek as you turned out of the punches range. The training of your youth kicked in at full swing (pun intended) as your hands latched onto his arm. The world seemed to slow as your body instinctively turned in just the right way for you to use the blonds own momentum to toss him over your shoulder and into the wall that had been behind you. In slow motion you saw him hit back first and then slide down limp as a rag doll, he was stunned, at least for now._ **

**_You weren't going to have any other chances, you needed to move fast. You spun on your heel to face the brunette again, as soon as your eyes focused on him it was to late for you to stop him from slamming you into the same wall you had just thrown his cohort. He grabbed hold of your dress shirt tight and dragged you up the wall until you were face to face with him._ **

**_You realized the second you looked down into his eyes that you had completely misjudged him. He wasn't a calm and collected person who just liked fighting alongside his bully of a partner, oh no, just from the look he was giving you you could tell that he was cold, calculatingly, and those icy eyes were nothing but merciless. A chill ran up your spine but one thing was sure though, he was focused on you._ **

**_You glanced over brunettes shoulder, Dogi had backed herself into a corner but Kendrick hadn't moved an inch and was just staring at the fight._ **

**_“RUN! Now’s your only cha-!” you call to Dogi but are cut off by a punch to the gut hard enough to knock the wind out of you. You gasp for breath and your vision blurs for a moment. Before you have any chance to recover another blow connects with your cheek -ironically the one you gave a free shot at- and your head snaps to the side._ **

**_Your vision cleared just long enough for you to see Dogi running away at full sprint, looking back only for a split second before she disappeared around a corner, she was safe. You felt yourself smile just before another punch connected, this time to your nose, your eyes watered and you felt blood trailing down your face, your nose had broke._ **

**_Blow after blow hit you, you had forgotten to figure out how you'd get away but it was to late now, there was no escape. Between punches, in a mere moment that you could see, you glimpsed Kendrick, he had sheer terror plastered on his face. Wait, was he crying? When you noticed your sight was going dark, there was blood trickling into your eyes from somewhere on your brow. The last thing you think you saw was Kendrick running away, and you heard an police car -or was it an ambulance?- in the far distance before the last blow knocked you out...or maybe it had killed you._ **

**_You saw a light far above you….W-why do you hear howling?_ **

 

\--------------------------

 

__

You shoot up. During the nightmare you had rolled dangerously close to the edge of your bed and the sudden movement catapults you off of your mattress. One of your legs gets tangled up in your covers as arms try to stop your face plant, but they slip on the smooth carpet and stretch out uselessly in front of you; your nose is buried in the carpet.

Despite the hilarious position you’re in your heart pounds like the hooves of a startled draft horse, bits of the nightmare flash through your mind’s eye as you stare blankly at the ground. The brunette’s cold, merciless, blue eyes, Dogi’s face as she glanced back at you as she ran, and Kendrick’s horrified expression showing again and again as you try desperately to calm yourself.

You take deep breath after deep breath but they don't even make a dent into your panic. Gritting your teeth you close your eyes, the flashes just become clearer in your head but you try to force something else into your mind, anything else. You riffle through thought after thought to try to distract your mind from the bits of nightmare,nothing worked until something new flashed into your head, the cool amber eyes of a wolf. Without even trying your mind locks onto the eyes and a memory from long ago drowns out the images of the nightmare.

As the calm eyes watch you your body relaxes and your heart calms to a softer beat. After you fully calm down you gently nudge the memory out of your mind and put your focus on untangling your leg from your bed sheets. Once your leg is freed you get up off the floor and walk over to your laptop to boot it up. You stare blankly at the screen until the home screen loads and the time shows in the corner.

“OH _SHIT!_ ” you exclaim as you rush over to your closet, striping out of your night clothes as you went. It's already 5:25,if you don't hurry you'll miss your train! You quickly skim over your work clothes and pull out a red dress shirt, a black vest, a pair of black dress pants, and your work issued tie. You haphazardly throw on your dress shirt and button up your pants as you rush into your small kitchen. You don't have time for breakfast so you just grab a vitamin drink mix packet and stick it in your pocket for later. You slip on your dress shoes as you rush out the door and are awkwardly tying your tie as you reach the stairwell.

On the way down the steps you take two steps at a time, jumping the last three or four when you reach a landing; using the handrail to slingshot yourself around corners when necessary. When you reach the lobby you look around for the clock you know is there. You find it over by the door -someone had moved it again- and the clock read 5:34. If you run you can still make it to the station in time to catch your train. You take one more deep breath before rushing out the door at full speed.

You rush down the dimly street light lit sidewalk and head straight towards the train station. After running for a short bit of time you find a pace you can keep and just run. Even though it’s because you’re late it feels nice to have the wind through your hair. You don't normally run like this but you don't have to worry about getting your legs caught on your bag so you can run as much as you want; well until you start getting close to the station that is.

The closer you get to the station the more populated the sidewalk becomes. You try your best to keep your pace but eventually you have to slow down to a jog in order to not crash into people. After another few minutes your path gets just crowded enough for you to have to slow to a walk, which annoys you ever so slightly since you were enjoying the run. Despite the annoyance you quickly replace it with relief as the quaint little train station comes into view.

This station is at the end of the line so it's only as big as it needed to be, which is pretty small. It's only really a ticket machine, a canopy to cover the platform and the tracks, and a slightly unnecessarily large electronic sign that shows the arrival times of the trains, the date, the temperature, and the current time. You smile happily as you see the time on the sign, it's only 5:50. You have a good 10 minutes until your train arrives and it won't take you too long to bring up your metro card on the machine.

Careful not to bump into anyone you make your way over to the ticket machine. Even though there isn't an extensive amount of people there you don't want to have even small unnecessary interactions with strangers, especially after yesterday’s endeavor. You're really uncomfortable around people you don't know so you tend to just avoid crowded situations like a plague if you can help it, but this is a scene that you're use to. The low rumble of voices and footsteps, the slightly flickering lights of both the station lights and the street lights, you got use to them pretty fast just like you had at work.

After you get your ticket you casually look around the small station. There are several older people in suits with briefcases and several more younger people in more casual clothes with either backpacks or messenger bags, students like you probably. You recognize most of them in passing but a new face catches your eye.

His light hair is haphazardly slicked back and he didn't appear to have even tried to tuck his plaid button down into his blue jeans making his torso look longer and thus his legs disproportionately shorter. Despite his fashion sense his outfit isn't what caught your eye. The thing that had really drawn your attention is the 4 long scars spanning from his right temple, across one of his steel blue eyes, over his nose, and partially onto his left cheek. The flesh looks like it had been gouged out long ago.

You try to go back to looking around but your eyes always end up back on the man. Something about him is just making you feel uneasy, and you hope it isn't just the scars. You go as far as turning away from him in an attempt to stop staring but you just end up looking at him from the corner of your eye. After a few more unsuccessful tries to ignore the man you're relieved to see him hop on an outgoing train.

You watch as the train pulls away from the station and too late realise that it's the train you’re supposed to be on. You instinctively start after it but quickly realise it's no use.

“God damn it...I’m gonna be late for work…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it took me so long to get this chapter out,some things came up and it became hard to work on this for a while but I plan on having the next chapter out soon hopefully. Wish me luck ówò"-b


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